Martin Baxter

Dr. Baxter is a member of the American Meteorology Society, the National Weather Association, the American Geophysical Union, the American Meteorological Society Weather Analysis and Forecasting Committee, and the Unidata Strategic Advisory Committee.

Severe thunderstorms have shaped the development of communities worldwide, and how these events respond to climatic variations remains an open question. The primary goal of my research program is to understand how severe thunderstorms respond to climate variability and, in doing so, improve quantification of potential risk to life, property and agriculture from the present and future climate perspective. However, to achieve this goal, there are several directions. One of these focuses is expanding and exploring our understanding of the climatology of severe thunderstorms both in the United States and globally, finding new ways to leverage developing or existing technology and observations to contribute to our outstanding. Other areas of interest include the physical mechanisms of how climate change and variability can impact extreme events, including severe thunderstorm frequency or intensity, deriving forecasting insight and guidance from lessons learned using climatology, and applications of our understanding of severe thunderstorms to their impacts on agriculture and the built environment.

Teaching Areas

MET 140: Severe & Unusual Weather

MET 450: Mesoscale Meteorology

MET 480: Atmospheric Modeling

Selected Publications

Baxter, M.A. and P.N. Schumacher, 2017: Distribution of Single-Banded Snowfall in Central United States Cyclones.
Weather and Forecasting, 32, 533-554.